Eulogy

Eulogy is near Farm Road 56 some nine miles northeast of Walnut Springs and fifty miles northwest of Waco in northern Bosque County. Charles Walker Smith founded the settlement when he moved his store there from Brazos Point; the store opened on July 11, 1884, and in 1885 a post office was established in it. The community originally applied for a post office under the name Smithville, in honor of a man called Uncle Billye Smith, but since there was already a Smithville in Texas, Smith's sister, Julia Smith Mickey, may have recommended the name Eulogy, based upon the idea that everyone eulogized Uncle Billye. This post office name was approved, and the office operated until 1912. In the 1890s Eulogy supported a school, at least three churches, a steam gristmill and gin, and several other retail and service businesses. Around 1900 a two-story wooden school building was erected at the community; the school's top floor served as a meeting hall for various associations. This building burned in 1929 and was later replaced by a brick structure. The school was eventually consolidated with those of Walnut Springs, after which the school building was used for community functions. The number of rated businesses at Eulogy had fallen to two by 1931, and after 1961 none were reported there. During the 1890s Eulogy's population was estimated at between 100 and 200, but in 1933 it fell to ninety-three and then by 1974 to forty-five, at which level it was still reported in 2000.